yet another blog.

Though it's barely there, I'm starting another blog:

Summit League Hoops

No, it's not going to be Woodward & Bernstein caliber of journalism. I doubt I'll be getting scoops on the teams and such, but maybe I can draw some interest from fans around the conference to get involved a bit and mix it up for fun.

We'll see.

tulsapalooza2k8.

It's about 75% official. I'm heading back to Tulsa for a return engagement. We'll call it TULSAPALOOZA2K8.

What: Tulsapalooza2k8
When: March 8-11
Where: Tulsa, OK
Why: IUPUI Jaguars will be competing for a Summit League championship

This will be my third trip to our conference tournament. Far from a vacation, though, this is something of a working trip for me. Once every couple years I pretend to be a sports writer for the program and write the game re-caps for the IUPUI Jaguars Web site. In addition, I'm tinkering with the idea of being a regular, courtside blogger as well as posting video updates.

Yeah, I'll be busy. But this is fun for me.

As we draw nearer the dates, I'll keep you in the loop so you can follow the bouncing ball.

jon avery on the umass victory.

I didn't even know this was out there until today. Sophomore forward Jon Avery talks about the significance of beating UMass:


Call me a narcissist, but I like the fact the b-roll audio picks up my announcing. :-)

sound off.

It seems this season will not be an easy ride off into the sunset for me. Because of sound-card issues I have with my laptop, I used an AirPort Extreme to run audio at basketball games. Now, the AirPort Extreme was working fine from home. When I plugged it in at the Jungle, it was dead. No green light. No yellow light.

DEAD!

I had no choice but to run the sound directly from computer to sound board. Fortunately, there were no incidents. It may be like this the rest of the way, I'm sorry to report.

We won the game tonight too. Now if only someone can help us out and knock off ORU a time or two, that would be super.

Mmm...thanks.

...like being shot out of a cannon.

Last evening's Jaguar Jamboree felt like getting shot out of a cannon. There's no other way to describe it. Once the volleyball game concluded, we had about 10 minutes to set up and get rolling. I'm used to about 45 minutes of prep time when I work a basketball game, but I figured it would be no sweat, since this isn't my first rodeo.

I was wrong.

It should've been received as a harbinger of things to come when I learned my standard headset mic was out of commission. The handheld mic I was using is what I absolutely hate because it's arguably the least sensitive of the bunch. So I spent most of the night having to SCREAM into the mic. Anyone who knows anything about public speaking can predict this is a recipe for disaster.

If that wasn't bad enough, we had sound issues all night long. We lost the right channel on our amp and, I'm learning, one entire side of the gym couldn't hear a thing because half the overhead speakers were out.

Everything sounded muddy, muffled and over/under-modulated. It may very well have something to do with the system I run (I run my computer into one of the inputs and play everything through iTunes). It worked fine last year. But now, something is amiss and I need a moment to figure it out. Being as how we only had 10 minutes to get things ready last night, there was no time for rehearsals or anything else.

The upside, however, is former player Angelo Smith did a fantastic job as the floor emcee. I knew he would. He's a good guy with a very warm, friendly personality and it came across well.

The new Jungle looks great. I just wish we had more butts in seats last night.

If I were compiling a wish list, it would begin and end with better equipment. What we need, though, would cost an additional few thousand dollars.

ron hunter: "...on second thought..."

I just received this from a representative of the IUPUI Jaguars Athletics Department:

IUPUI’S RON HUNTER WITHDRAWS NAME FROM BALL STATE COACHING SEARCH

INDIANAPOLIS - IUPUI head basketball coach Ron Hunter has withdrawn his name from the Ball State head coaching candidate search. Hunter, IUPUI’s all-time leader in wins (207) and career winning percentage (.545), is entering his 14th season with the university.

The Ball State job became vacant when Ronny Thompson resigned after one season.

“I was flattered to be in consideration, but I want to be at IUPUI. We look forward to preparing our squad for the 2007-08 season and competing for a Summit League championship.

“I took the opportunity to explore another professional opportunity, but have ultimately decided that I’m happy at IUPUI.”

Hunter has no further comments on the matter at this time.

i guess this is an official announcement...or something.

Without making a big fuss over things, I hinted to IUPUI Jags personnel today that the upcoming soccer and basketball seasons will, most likely, be my final as PA announcer for the program.

Given my intentions to relocate to Las Vegas by as early as August 08, I think the distance would create a rather difficult commute.

Nothing is etched in stone and I certainly enjoy working for the program, but I have decided it's time to pursue other interests in the desert.

There's a good chance I could still be living in Indy well into 2009, depending on the Vegas job market, but after much consideration I felt it was probably best to step aside well before the 08-09 season to allow ample time for the SID to name a replacement.

It's not like my job is brain surgery or anything. They'll have no trouble filling the spot, I believe.

For me personally, though, I admit I'll miss being at the scorers table. I've always told people I get to watch basketball from the best seat in the house. And the camaraderie between myself and the guys at the table has always been great.

Also, it goes without saying that I'll miss the interaction with all the students: the athletes, cheerleaders, dancers and, last but not least, the Pep Band. I'm pushing 40 but always feel young when I'm around them.

So I'm going to savor as much of this season as possible. I'm going to enjoy every moment at every game. And I'll go to one more conference tournament to watch our teams compete.

I look forward to my future in Las Vegas, but I'll certainly miss the experience I've had as a PA announcer for the Jags.

Onward.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!! RON HUNTER LEAVING FOR BALL STATE

ESPN.com is reporting Ron Hunter is set to take over as head coach of Ball State University.

See for yourself:

IUPUI's Hunter expected to replace Thompson at Ball State

By Andy Katz

Barring an unexpected impasse, Ball State and IUPUI head coach Ron Hunter are expected to agree on a contract that would make him the new Cardinals coach.

Hunter is the top candidate to replace Ronny Thompson, multiple sources said over the weekend. Thompson abruptly resigned July 13 after one season as Ball State coach after an internal investigation found that he and his staff violated NCAA rules in 2006 and last May by attending voluntary offseason team workouts. The coaches lied about their involvement in the May infraction, the school has said. Read more.

Stay tuned.

well, that makes one of us who's excited.

Wow...did not see this one coming. From the Mid-Continent Conference Summit League Web site:

Sioux Falls to Host 2009-2010 Summit League Basketball Championships

ELMHURST, Ill. - The Summit League will head to Sioux Falls, S.D., and the Sioux Falls Arena for its men’s and women’s basketball championships in 2009 and 2010 Commissioner Tom Douple announced today.

"We are very excited about having our basketball tournament in Sioux Falls," Douple said. "It will be great for the city and the region, and we anticipate tremendous support from the community. We are especially looking forward to bringing March Madness to the state of South Dakota."
Read more.

The upside is we won't have to put up with scads of ORU fans. The downside is it's still a haul and a half to get there for Jags fans.

heads are rolling in kansas city and chicago....and southern utah????

Heads are rolling with (current and former) Mid-Con teams. According to ESPN.com:

UMKC fires basketball coach Rich Zvosec after 12-20 season

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- University of Missouri-Kansas City fired men's basketball coach Rich Zvosec on Tuesday after a 12-20 season.

Zvosec compiled an 84-91 record in six years and had one year left on his contract, which was extended last summer. Read more.

And then I just saw on the ESPN TV ticker that Chicago State University Head Coach Kevin Jones also was fired today.

I can't say as I'm surprised by either. CSU, as you know, was booted out of "left" the conference after last season amidst a groundswell of allegations against its athletics program. As for Zvosec at UMKC, I half-expected it. I don't know him personally, but he never seemed to elevate UMKC above the middle of the pack.

I now wonder out loud if longtime IUPUI Associate Head Coach Todd Howard will get any looks from UMKC or other schools. As for Chicago State...well, I wonder if that program can survive without a conference for much longer. I predict they'll be forced to shut it down.

ETA: Boy, how did I miss this?????

Bill Evans Leaves Southern Utah

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. Evans was not a bad coach, I thought.

and that's that.

Both teams lost today...both to top seeds. From the looks of things, the top seeds were the best teams. And that ends the Jags' seasons.

It could've been better, it could've been worse.

The women's team no longer had the element of surprise on their side, as they did last season. The men's team no longer had the element of a game-changer once George Hill went down for the season with injury. Then, factor in losing Fred and you're basically looking at a team that lost two integral forces to the starting lineup.

So, this is it. Our part of March Madness is over. Wait 'til next season.

Tulsa, be ready. I'm coming back with a vengeance.

jags win! jags win!

Nice to see both men's and women's team win today. The women beat Western Illinois this afternoon while the men's team just wrapped up a convincing win over Southern Utah. But for both teams, the next opponents loom large:

TOP SEEDS

The women play tomorrow at 12:50 p.m. against #1 Oakland.

The men play tomorrow evening at 6:55 p.m. against—wait for it—reigning champs Oral Roberts University.

Shock the world, Jags. Shock the world.

missing tulsa.

I'm listening to our women's team play Western Illinois right now (down by one at the half). I never thought I'd be saying this, but I miss not being in Tulsa right now. I went last year, had lots of fun, wanted to go this year but couldn't swing it. And now, I'm sorry I didn't go.

I'll be listening and watching as long as our teams are playing. And I'll certainly go next year. In fact, I'm looking into forming an exploratory committee to gauge interest in a bus trip to Tulsa for the tourney next season.

jabba the pa announcer.

Senior Night
Originally uploaded by jawzthejaguar.

Who's that gigantic blob goon sitting at the scorers table, reading announcements? Oh yeah. Me.

Note to self: the season's over...get thine large arse back to the gym.

the song is over.

We dropped the curtain on another Jaguars basketball season this evening. Thanks to the most spirited game they've played all season, the women's team went out with a win too. Both teams head into the tournament next weekend at virtually identical records and seeds.

I hope they do well.

As for closing down my sixth season as the Jags announcer...well, it's always bittersweet. You always look forward to the end. But once you get there, you want it to keep going just a little longer. Perhaps it's because I know it's the last game. but I'm always relaxed and in good voice a the last game.

My overall performance this season? Well, I've done better, but I've done worse. I passed, but would like to improve on a couple areas.

The bad, cheerleaders and especialy the dancers were great this year. I'd like to think these groups can hopefully become the foundation of a real student section some day....some day.

As for the table crew, this was our sixth season together. It's a privilege and an honor to work with them. I look forward to the beginning of next season in September with soccer.

In the meantime, I'll be watching the tournament and cheering on the Jags.

Onward.

change of address.

In case you haven't noticed, I've changed the URL to this blog. No, I'm not retiring from my PA duties at IUPUI (unless you know something I don't know). I've decided to make the URL more reflective of the name by which most people associated with the IUPUI Jaguars knows me. So...

IUPUI-JagsAnnouncer.blogspot.com has been changed...

The new URL:

KMac-PA.blogspot.com

Please make a note of it. Beeeeeeeeep!

shock the world.

Last evening was the final men's game (and final doubleheader) of the season. Our teams swept Centenary rather handily. The end of the season is always bittersweet. The men finished dead even: 14-14 overall, 7-7 in the conference. I suppose you could consider the record a letdown after last season's 18-9/13-3 finish. It's worth noting the Jags played most of the season—including the entire conference schedule—without its best player, George Hill. George red-shirted the season after his early ankle injury. To a degree, losing George took a lot of wind out of IUPUI's sails, and not just on the court.

Without George, it seems most Jags fans were deflated. That's probably why we had dismal attendance against Valpo and Oral Roberts and a few other games along the way.

Comparing the crowds in this year's Valpo and ORU games to last year's bedlam is a contrast in night and day.

I prefer bedlam to sleepy fans, personally.

The women's side of things was letdown this season as well. Last year, they had their best season ever, 16-10/11-5. Nobody expected that of the women's team last season. I suppose you could chalk up this season's 12-15/6-7 with one to go as a disappointment, but last year's success put the entire conference on notice: don't take them lightly. And nobody did.

We'll see how the teams do in the tournament. I think I speak for all of us when I say it's going to be an uphill climb for both. At least on the men's side, the know what they're up against. Their first round game against Southern Utah will not be a gimme. And if we get past the T-birds, it gets no easier.

I guess we have to wait and see.

The only part of next season to which I look ahead is in the hopes we draw in the fans again. The Jungle is not a very big place. There's no reason we can't sell the place out for every game. I'm not expecting the crowd to be as amped up every game as they were at the end of last season. But I do expect fans to be into the game. Believe it or not, I've had fans who sit behind me more concerned about what music is being played over the PA system. I'm not joking there.

"Can you play.....?"

I've gotten that more than once. My answer? No. It's that simple. No. I'm not a DJ. This isn't a club. I don't take requests. You're here to watch a basketball game!!

That's probably my biggest pet peeve right now.

Let me conclude by saying the Pep Band, cheerleaders and dance team were SPOT ON this year. You all were great; the best fans in the Jungle, night in and night out.

We've got one more home game and then it's on to Tulsa.

Crazier things have happened (remember Oakland two years ago?), so let's go shock the world!

you tube test.

I decided to upload this to You Tube. It's from last year's ORU-IUPUI game...man, how I wish our home court was like that these days. sigh

heading into the home stretch.

We had our third of four doubleheaders this past weekend. We've had better nights at the table, I have to admit. It's nothing that will carry over or anything, but we weren't as tight as we normally are. The plus side, though, IUPUI won both games. In both cases, our teams are squarely in the middle of the pack. I honestly had higher expectations for both teams, but you know how it goes. On the men's side, an injury to the team's best player clearly rendered an effect. Despite losing George Hill for the rest of the season, the team seems to be coming together at the right time, with four games remaining on the schedule.

For the women's team, it's hard to pinpoint what's happening. Last season, they took the league by surprise. This season, they've had trouble getting the offense going. That couldn't be more apparent than winning on Saturday by a score of 34-31. But they've got five remaining games and could get as high as a #3 seed in the conference tournament. But I think it's going to be Oakland's to lose this year.

What are the men's prospects in the tournament? Hard to say. Oral Roberts and Oakland are dominating right now with the rest of the league jockeying for position. IUPUI is currently in fifth place and could secure a #3 seed if they run the table. My prediction: they finish the conference season at 8-6 and in either fourth or fifth place. That puts them in a tough, tough bracket.

But who knows. Anything can happen.

I'm really quite surprised I'm already talking about the post-season. After tomorrow night, both teams only have two more home games. Once again, how time flies.

jags beat valpo (again); fans still sleeping.

So, we played Valpo last night. We beat Valpo last night. Normally, that would be a big deal. But Valpo isn't the team they used to be. And, to be honest, we aren't the team we thought we'd be. Don't get me wrong. I think there's a lot of talent on the Jags bench, but without George out there, it's not very cohesive. I give credit to our team last night, though. They played their best basketball of the season in the second half to out-score Valpo by 22 points. It's worth noting our shooting was over 60 percent in the second half. You can't count on that happening every game, but you'll take it when it does.

And oh yeah, Valpo had ZERO offensive rebounds. That's saying something about our effort last night.

I have to say, though, the crowd (or lack thereof) was a major disappointment to me. For whatever reason, this program lost all its traction from a year ago. We played Valpo last season on 9 Feb 06 and the place was rocking. It was a sell-out and the fans were the noisiest I'd ever heard them; until two days later when we played Oral Roberts.

We haven't even had a whiff of that atmosphere this season and it's frustrating. I expected more from our fans and our students this season. I don't expect them to make the road trip to Tulsa because that's a haul and a half. But I expect them to show up to the home games and make the place a college atmosphere.

I don't know why this season has been so different, but hopefully we can rally a bit here at the end of the season.

But back to last night's game for a moment...this was the last meeting between IUPUI and Valpo in the Mid-Con. Valpo's moving on to the Horizon League next season. It may surprise you to hear me say this, but I'm going to miss the rivalry. It may not be as strong as it was a couple seasons ago, but it was a fun rivalry.